Of the Super Nintendo's massive library, there were more than a few choice RPG's that stood out then, and still do to this day: Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, Breath of Fire, and an array of Final Fantasy games. One thing that most of the greats had in common was the developer Square Soft, one half of the current partnership, Square Enix, and arguably one of their most impressive works on Nintendo's 16-bit console was none other than Super Mario RPG.
Despite the various amount of jobs the plumber's had over the years, Square did something for the Nintendo mascot that his various other roles, like carpenter, referee, doctor, professional athlete, artist, etc., just couldn't do. The game finally made the character stand out from the shadow cast as king of the 2D platformer. However, don't count on lightning striking twice, as it's in the past where Mario's time in the RPG genre will stay.
It's been 17 years since Super Mario RPG was launched, and long since then have players been hoping for a follow up, but it doesn't seem like it's a possibility. The game's creator, Yoshihiko Maekawa, told Kotaku why exactly:
"Actually, I don't feel like I want to return to that world and use those characters in another game," Maekawa said. "I feel like I was able to accomplish what I wanted to with that world and those characters and the gameplay ideas that came out of those, and now I mostly feel like I want to make something different."
While not direct sequels, both the Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi series are considered spiritual successors of sorts, as they both have similar features to RPG, like use of "Flower Points" and timed hits. Paper Mario was first in development as a direct sequel, the original name being Super Mario RPG 2. In order to keep the name, Square would've had to either given permission to use the name, or be involved with the title in some capacity. As no Super Mario RPG 2 ever saw the light of day, you can see how well that worked out.
The Mario & Luigi brand is still going strong, though. The latest addition, Dream Team, is slated to hit the 3DS in North America in less than two weeks, August 11th.
If a jaunt down memory lane is what you're looking for, you can download Super Mario RPG via the Virtual Console.
